How to Remove Data When Disposing of Your Old Computer or Mobile Device

Computers and mobile devices hold sensitive information like passwords, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, photos, and internet browsing history. It is important to make sure you safely remove this personal data before you dispose, donate, or recycle your device.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have shared details on how to remove your data before you get rid of your old device.

Back Up Your Information

• Save important information and files like photos, videos, or important documents to your new computer, an external hard drive, or to a data cloud service like Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud, before you do anything with your old device.
• Tip: If you chose to use cloud storage, try to find a provider that offers multi-factor authentication to protect your information.

Erase Your Hard Drive

Once you have fully backed-up your data, now you can start the process of deleting your data from your old device.

• Although files have been removed from the device, data still remains. Even if you have emptied the ‘recycle bin’ on your device, the deleted files can be retrieved. Permanent data deletion requires additional steps:
• Computers: Use a disk cleaning software like Secure Erase or Disk Wiping to permanently remove the data stored on a computer hard drive. Then, reset the computer back to factory default through the systems settings menu.
• Smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, media players, and gaming consoles: Set the device back to factory settings by selecting the “hard reset” from the settings menu. Also, remove any additional memory card from the device.
• Office equipment (copiers, printers, fax machines, etc.): Remove memory cards from the equipment and restore back to factory default.

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